A pop quiz! Epherene focused on attacking the problems with only her skills. However, from the first sentence of the first problem, the length of the calculation, which was a mixture of numbers and circuits, neared infinity.
“Ugh…”
Epherene envisioned the magic circle in her head. But, as something went wrong-
Whoosh—!
A fire burned in the air. Just then, Kreto raised his hand.
“Professor. You said we can discuss between us?”
“Just as I said. However, I will ask you all if you understood the question.”
Kreto glanced secretly to Rose Rio, but she was already in a trance. Iron-colored mana sparkled in her eyes. They said that when you reach the etheric level, your mana also becomes unique. As expected of Rose Rio, even her aura was metallic.
“…Ah.”
Epherene was captivated for a moment, but she shook it off and turned her eyes down to the test paper again, starting the full-scale calculations. She began scribing complicated formulas on the magical answer sheet.
“Epherene…?”
Suddenly, Drent called out to her quietly. Epherene spared him a glance.
“How about this?”
Drent coughed and showed her his answer. The beginning of his first answer was similar to Epherene’s, but after that, there were a lot of errors.
“Yeah. Here, I calculated these two parts separately and then joined them.”
“Oh yeah? I did it all at once.”
“That makes it harder. Wouldn’t it be better to do it the easier way?”
“…I find it harder when I do it separately.”
“I’ll do it for you. Look”
“Okay.”
While the two of them were discussing together-
Jump-!
Suddenly, Rose Rio stood and approached Deculein.
“Here.”
Then, she handed over her answer sheet. Deculein barely skimmed over it before glancing back to her and nodding indifferently.
“You passed. Go inside.”
There was another passage to which Deculein beckoned. Rose Rio left first, followed by the red-haired Munchkin.
“Me too.”
“Me too~.”
Next were the Addict Astal, Professor Louina, Professor Relin. It was difficult for Epherene and Drent, who were only Solda, to match their speed.
“…There is only half left.”
Epherene looked at the watch. Ninety minutes had passed, and by her side were Kreto and Drent.
“This part. I think this is the key circuit that makes mana pure. What do you guys think?”
“Yes. I think so. And Drent, what about the calculations I left to you?”
“Oh, I’m almost done.”
In this way, the three of them put their heads together, pondered, and divided the labor for three hours amongst themselves.
Tick-
Deculein’s timer rang.
“Time’s up. Submit.”
“Oh, yes!”
The three stood as one and submitted their answers.
“…”
He scanned the sheets. The tension squeezed around their throats like a noose, and their palms grew slick with sweat.
“Epherene.”
Deculein, setting down the answer sheet, looked to Epherene.
“Yes.”
Deculein pointed to a part of the answer sheet.
“Who came up with the idea of separating and combining in this formula?”
Separating the formula first, calculating it, and then combining it with precision. It was easy to suggest, but its difficulty was similar to that of attempting a body transplant. If it succeeded, it could save the dying, but if it failed, it would only kill them faster or turn them into a horrible chimera.
“Oh, I… it’s my idea. These two helped with the calculations and dismantling the formulas… I combined them.”
Epherene spoke hesitantly as Deculein continued to look down upon her coldly. She guessed that it must’ve been wrong. Drent and Kreto, predicting his reaction, began to sigh. However, what Deculein said next was:
“This is excellent.”
It was an unexpected compliment.
“…?!”
Anticipating a rebuke instead, Epherene, with her head bowed, looked up at Deculein with large eyes. He continued in the same dry tone as always.
“This technique will be of great help in the future, so hone it. You passed.”
“Nice!”
“Phew…”
Drent was delighted, Kreto sighed in relief, and Epherene simply stared blankly at him.
“…”
She was confused. Today, for the first time in her life, she heard that her work was excellent. Outside of empty words or exaggeration, she had never heard that praise from anyone. She received that first compliment from Deculein, of all people. Perhaps even this was just a form of conciliation…
“Epherene! Let’s go!”
“…Huh? Y-Yeah…”
Drent pulled at Epherene. Bewildered, she was dragged along like a paper doll.
* * *
The second lecture hall, where only the successful candidates gathered. It was an outside space, with a stream flowing past on the other side, greenery was growing plentiful, and some fireballs were floating in mid-air.
“100 passed. Fifty were eliminated.”
It was an open book exam where they could discuss it, but 50 students who could not understand the answer or didn’t write anything down were eliminated. Within three hours, a third of the students were culled.
“I have judged that the remaining 100 people understood the basic content. I will give you an assignment.”
An assignment. With that said, Deculein aggregated the dirt on the road into an awl-like shape; it was a spell known as Earth Frame.
“This is an extremely simple application of the earth attribute magic 「Earth Frame」. It’s not a long sword or an ax or anything complicated like that. A simple and small awl.”
Earth Frame was magic that molded soil into a weapon and was usually linked with Psychokinesis or used directly.
“Yes. 「Earth Frame」 needs at least 20 strokes to become a useful weapon.”
Rose Rio intervened, growing excited as it was her specialty.
“Nine strokes can create an awl. A dagger with 20 strokes. In about 30 strokes, any blacksmith can make an object sharper than a forged iron sword.”
“Yes.”
At Rose Rio’s remarks, Deculein nodded.
“However, the essence of pure use lies in the limit of the basics. Allen?”
“Yes.”
Allen, who was standing next to him, handed him a mana alloy. Deculein accepted it then grabbed the awl made from Earth Frame.
“If magic is used purely, the output of very basic magic increases infinitely depending on the skill of the caster. For example.”
It was an awl weaved with only nine strokes of magic, yet its sharp blade pierced the magic alloy.
Crack—!
Rose Rio’s eyes grew wide with shock.
“The awl pierced a mana alloy worth 5,000 Elnes?”
A hole was drilled in the metal. Surprised, Rose Rio stretched out a hand.
“H-Hey, give me that!”
Deculein threw the mana alloy to her. Rose Rio immediately made an awl out of Earth Frame and attempted to pierce the alloy in the same way. It just bounced off with a clear ‘tink’.
“No. What did you do?”
“I used Earth Frame, but it doesn’t matter what kind of magic it is.”
Deculein ignored Rose Rio and continued.
“If you can pierce, break, or melt this alloy with less than 14 strokes of magic, you will complete the task.”
Epherene and the other students swallowed hard. It was better than nine strokes, but 14 strokes also remained in the realm of elemental magic. On the other hand, that mana alloy was for use. If it was worth 5,000 Elnes, it was also probably above the intermediate level.
“If you don’t, you’re out. The deadline is until the next class. Okay, now…”
Deculein snapped his fingers — the remaining 100 students were slightly perplexed. They thought today’s class would be over with this.
“Let’s start the theory lecture.”
They still had much to learn.
* * *
In the Magic Tower, 99th floor. In a circular office the size of a sports ground, the Chairman and her dog were sitting together.
“Professor Deculein! What’s going on?!”
As soon as the lecture was over, I came up and handed her a document.
“Oh! Is this what you were doing?! That! That… a thesis…?”
The Chairman, who was speaking excitedly, stopped suddenly and looked at my face. Then, she looked down at the documents I handed her and back to my face again. Again at the documents.
After repeating that simple act roughly a dozen times, she slammed the desk with her palm.
“Aha! This is a dream!”
“No.”
“I beg your pardon?!”
The Chairman covered her open mouth with both hands. She wanted to show off that she was surprised.
“If this is not a dream… Professor Deculein! Is this a fake?!”
I looked at the Chairman without saying a word. This reaction was unexpected. I thought she would laugh as soon as she received this thesis.
“You’re not answering! It’s fake! It is!”
“No.”
“So why…?”
She didn’t seem very pleased as a busybody, even though it would usually be a very welcome thing. Rather, she appeared confused and dissatisfied as her brow wrinkled.
“…Professor Deculein! Professor Deculein! Professor Deculein!”
“Why are you calling my name three times?”
“Are you going to submit it like this?!”
Adrienne pointed to a section of the thesis on the very first page. The part introducing the name of the [first author].
“Yes.”
I nodded. Then, the Chairman looked over the thesis again. This time, she almost put her eyes directly against the paper.
“Sigh…”
She took a deep breath. Is this real?! The Chairman’s eyes were yelling that at me.
“…Professor Deculein! Do you want to submit it like this?! I can’t fix it even if I wanted to!”
“I know.”
“No! Are you not Deculein?!”
The Chairman stretched out a finger. Suddenly, a gust of wind rose and engulfed my body.
Whooong-!
It was a high-end technique that destroyed all magical spells applied to the target, known as Weathering. The storm swept across my face, rustling my collar.
“…What are you doing?”
After the gust receded, I glared at the Chairman as I straightened my messy hair and clothes. The Chairman’s eyes widened with a smirk.
“…It’s you!”
“That’s a pointless doubt.”
She coughed – Ahem.
“Then. I have to believe this too… should I believe it?!”
I could understand why she kept asking this question. There was a big issue in this paper that the world wouldn’t imagine occurring if I were the original Deculein.
“No, no matter how much I think about it!”
The Chairman scanned the sentence again with her finger jabbing at each letter.
“First author!”
[First author] simply meant the owner of the thesis. The name that appeared first on the thesis’s title page, the most glorious page.
“There are two!”
In that place, the name Monarch Deculein, and next to it, Solda Kagan, with equal intervals to separate them, appeared.
“Does this make sense for Professor Deculein’s personality… huh?”
Then the Chairman tilted her head.
“But this hasn’t been tested yet?”
“Yes.”
More precisely, I couldn’t. My thesis was still only theory. Practical experimentation, that is, applying magic, was important to attain certain recognition, but I didn’t have the talent for that.
“It’s just a theory for now, but sooner or later, we will be able to apply it as magic.”
I had Epherene under me. She would grow strong enough to understand this thesis in half a year at the latest. It was up to her to apply and realize the magic.
“Well. There are cases where theories come out first, and experiments succeed later!”
Then, the Chairman nodded while strangely humming.
“And well! You are inventing a new pure element! As long as the content is good, the theory alone will be enough to receive recognition! Then, Professor Deculein! Just go! Let me read it!”
The Chairman produced a pair of large round glasses from her desk drawer and placed them on the bridge of her nose. The glasses were so large they covered most of her face.
“I don’t like having someone next to me when I study! Go! Go!”
The Chairman waved her hand.
“Yes.”
I immediately boarded the elevator and went down to the first floor.
* * *
A night sky full of stars. As I was about to head to the tower’s parking lot, I noticed ahead of blonde hair leaning against the wall and turned toward me.
“Are you here?”
Ihelm. The man spoke with a smile.
“Hey, I heard a strange rumor. They said you gave your thesis to his daughter. Saying that if she understands it within the month, you will give it back to her?”
“…”
“Why did you do that? What if she understands? What are you going to do?”
“She can’t do it anyway.”
“Aha~, as expected. So you’re just mocking her? You just want to have a look since she’s not going to manage it anyway?”
I shook my head. I didn’t like the way he was talking, especially not that cheesy tone.
“You have changed too. You didn’t used to do that before.”
I began moving again, but Ihelm followed.
“Hey, Deculein. Doesn’t it remind you of the past to walk like this?”
“No.”
“Still, oh, wait. Uh, you’re too fast!”
I widened my stride. With my long legs straddling the steps, Ihelm could not follow.
•••••.
Ihelm clicked his tongue.
“Damn. Why so fast?”
That bastard Deculein moved too quickly. He was neither running nor walking, moving at some magic level of speed.
“But, well?”
He didn’t have to pursue him. He said everything he wanted to say and heard everything he needed.
“Hey. Did you hear that?”
Ihelm glanced toward the beautiful tree blooming near the tower. Epherene, who hid there, flinched.
“Did you hear that? The fact that he gave you the thesis, knowing that you would not understand.”
“…I already knew that since last night, alright?”
Epherene, appearing from behind the tree, bluntly crossed her arms. Ihelm’s lips twisted upward.
“Why did you hide there if you knew that? I thought you didn’t know, so I deliberately asked him for you to hear.”
“I have a question. For you.”
“What.”
“What was the relationship between the three of you?”
“…What?”
Ihelm frowned. It was an honest reaction. Epherene chuckled a bit maliciously before continuing.
“The relationship between my dad, Deculein, and you. If you don’t tell me that, I won’t testify either. It’s a give and take.”
“…”
“Isn’t it?”
Ihelm’s mouth half-opened as if disconcerted. But, he let out a small sigh, then grinned.
“Right. We were friends. Deculein and me.”
“…Friends?”
When Epherene asked, he corrected himself again. He repeated it like a question.
“Were we friends?”
“What is that? What about my father?”
“A gofer.”
“…You damn-“
“It’s a joke, a joke. Hahaha!”
Seeing Epherene’s face contort into a demonic expression, Ihelm roared with laughter. He clutched his stomach, and tears welled up in the corners of his eyes. Epherene stomped on the ground with her heel.
“Don’t laugh!”
“Sorry. Okay.”
Whew!
Ihelm took a deep breath before continuing.
“We were equal. Your father was in cahoots with Yukline.”
“Cahoots?”
“Yes. Thanks to his head.”
Ihelm tapped his temple.
“Your father captivated Yukline with his head.”
Epherene thought about it for a moment. He captivated Yukline; the meaning felt slightly ambiguous.
“If Deculein was fascinated by my dad’s theory—”
“Hey. Is Deculein the only Yukline?”
“What?”
To the bewildered Epherene, Ihelm flashed a smile.
“Yeriel from Hadekain is also a Yukline, the etheric wizard Decalane who’s now dead was also a Yukline then, and the two women who married that Decalane were also Yuklines.”
“Oh… then-“
“No. Shh.”
Ihelm placed a finger to his lips abruptly.
“I want you to hear just this much. More than this is dangerous for you. Yukline is a big family. If you know more, they might kill you.”
“…Professor Deculein… kill me?”
“The family called Yukline.”
Epherene stared straight at Ihelm, meeting his gaze.
“So, you must be my testifier. If you have evidence, be sure to present it. I mean, if there’s any evidence.”
“I have it.”
For a moment, Ihelm’s expression hardened. His voice dropped low, and his eyes regarded her coldly.
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
“What is it?”
“…It’s confidential.”
“Confidential?”
His expression distorted, crinkling up into a frown.
“Are you kidding me? I need to know what it is so that I can follow your-“
“It’s a letter I shared with my father; I’ll take it to the hearing. And, there’s nothing you need to follow up on. Your name is not there.”
At Epherene’s bold remarks, Ihelm was struck momentarily speechless.
“…Okay. That means that bastard ignored me.”
Ihelm nodded, ruffling his hair.
“Anyway, okay. A letter. That’s good evidence, so be sure. I’ll push you, so make a good attack. Riwaynde is not a family that is so far behind Yukline.”
Ihelm spun around and walked away. He appeared drunk with his back swaying in the moonlight. Watching him leave, Epherene sighed.
“Hah…”
Whether this was the right way or not, she didn’t know yet. Maybe it was the wrong path, completely wrong.
─But.
Suppose her father’s name could be remembered in the magical world only like this; at least they could not forget it. If only she could undo the shame, her father suffered at the tower. If only she could proudly announce that she was her dad’s daughter.
“…Dad.”
Epherene clutched the thesis. Deculein said, ‘If you understand it in a month, I will give it back to you,’ but it was impossible. He had no intention of giving it back in the first place.
“Isn’t it strange?”
So, if, as Ihelm said, she was Deculein’s Achilles heel. If she could destroy him if only she could cut him off at the ankles…
“I should be happy. I should be jumping with joy…”
Epherene instead felt a misty, strangely bittersweet feeling inside.
“…”
Was it because of the future self she met someday? She wasn’t happy, nor was she sad. She couldn’t even feel relieved; everything just tasted bitter.
What was it, stomach pains?
“…I should make up my mind.”
Epherene muttered softly.
“I should make up my mind.”
A voice under the night sky. Her lack of self-confidence hovered in the air and scattered, blown away by the cold wind.
